DING!!! We have a winner. Come on down Johny!!!! ^^^^^^ I love the german cars. the driving experieince, the safety, the RWD... just love it. But they can give you headaches to the point where you just say F'k it I give up. Tired of bleeding money for these cars. Buying a Fusion/Camry/Accord/Altima or getting a bumped up Fusion MKZ like I had for 13 months. My MKZ was like maintaining a lawnmower. I got the Motorcraft Syn Blend oil @ walmart for like $13/5qtys. Motorcraft filter for like $3.50. Changed it every 7,500-10,000. Air filters were $8. Drove it to 80,000 miles and only did oil changes and tire rotations and 1 set of spark plugs @ 60k. I didn't spend jack on that car.

Sometimes you just have to vent and give cred where it's due.

In all fairness to older BMWs, the models I have owned with M30, M50, and M52 engines have been very reliable and low maintenance with exception of 15K mile valve adjustment on the M30. I like the way my E39 drives but the older models were definitely cars that let you enjoy driving and having a life on weekends that did not always involve tinkering with the car. The M54 engine does not have nearly the same degree of reliability and simplicity to work on. I am definitely beginning to see why people drop GM LSx engines in these cars. If I keep my 530i for the long haul, I think I will be joining that club some day.